Tile



Jan. 2, 1940,

2 xxx J. H. ISENHOUR 2,185,669

TILE

Filed y 29, 19:59

Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

The present invention concerns tile of the character which maybe quicklyand easily handled by the mason or tile setters and is known as speedtile, 1

It is an object, of the invention to provide a tile having a hand holdwhich may be readily manufactured by the extrusion method.

It is an object of the invention to provide a tile having a hand holdwhich will not transmit v l3 in the case of lower handle 22-, sothat'the load to the central webs of the tile and cause failure due tohigh localized stress.

It is an object of the invention to provide a tile having a. groovedhand hold so that should it be inadvertently subjected to load it willbe i incapable of transmitting any substantial portion of it to thecentral webbing of the tile since it would fracture at the groove first.

It is one object of the invention to provide a hand hold for speed tilewhich is so proportioned that it need not be grasped by the mason handagainst an inner wall of the tile yielding a firm hold with which thetile may be easily lifted with a swing and accurately guided intoposition all in a single quick motion. out- 5 standing feature is thatwith these proportions the tile need not be grasped which is one of themajor causes of fatigue in such work.

In the drawing: v t lFi g. 1 is a perspective view of the new speed 3 1e.

Fig. 21s a fragmentary sectional view along line 2-2 of Fig. 1. I

The tile as a whole is indicated in a general way by the numeral Hi. It'is defined by ver- 1 tical side walls I and I2. Inner vertical walls I3and I4 complete the upright members. Cross Walls I5 and I6 join innerwalls l3 and I4 and with them define a central channel 20. Cross wallsl1 and I8 join vertical walls [3 and l2, M respectively as do also'crosswalls 26 28 and 21, 29 which are the normal bearing surface of the tile.The surfaces are provided with mortar scores 30.

It will be noted that channel 20 is about two-- thirds of the height ofthe tile. Cross walls l and, I6 togetherwith inner vertical Walls l4 andl3 define open channels 2| in thetop and bottom bearing faces of thetile III.

In each. of these channels 2| is a hand holding means 22 having anupstanding portion 23 and a substantially horizontal finger graspingmeans 24. Portion 24 may slope slightly upwards so as to facilitate theinsertion. and removal of a masons hand. Upstanding portion 23 is sufii-'ciently removed from wall l4 to permit portion 25 to have sufficientlength to receive at least two finger joints thereunder and at the sametime suflicient room between its end andwall I4, in the case of theupper handle 22 and wall fingers may be quickly inserted and withdrawn.The handling of the tile I0 is greatly facilitated where the end of theportion 29 and wall l4 are so located relative to one another that theback of the hand can rest against. the wall i4 when the tile is pickedup and swung quickly 4 into position.

This relationship is quite important in 'that it permits a tile setteror mason to lay a great many more tile a day with less fatigue thanformerly.

with the fingers. With the new construction they serve merely as hooksto lift. The tile l0 transmit any load to the central webs of the tilewhere additional stress may easily cause failure. In order to assurethat cross wall or web IE will not be injured a groove is placed in theupstanding portion 23. Groove 25-may be -circular, V shaped or of likeconfiguration and makes neck 3| the weakest part of the tile. It followsthat if any support load should inadverently be placed on hand holdingmeans 22 it will not be transmitted in suflicient amount to causefailure of tile Ill. The neck 3| would rupture first. The neck 3| alsofacilitates the removal of hand holding means 22 if for any reason itbecomes desirable to remove it.

It will be noted that the edge where walls l4 and 21 meet is rolled orcurved as at 32. The rounding of this portion removes the sharp edgewhich would otherwise cut or bruise the backs of the hands. The same ofcourse is true of the meeting edge of walls l3 and 28.

Should a stronger tile be desired an additional vertical web may beplaced in channel 20 and other horizontal webs such as l1 and I8 addedIt is not necessary to grasp the tile to the side channels. This wouldmake three side channels on each side of equal size and two centralchannels.

I claim:

1. A tile having an open channel in one face thereof, means projectingupwards from the bottom of said open channel, said means being ofsubstantially inverted L shape and having an outstanding leg of suchlength and removed from the bottom of said channel such a distance thatthe fingers of a human hand may-be easily inserted thereunder forlifting said tile, said outstanding leg of said projection extendingtoward a side wall of said channel but spaced therefrom a distance suchthat when the fingers of a hand are under the projecting leg the back ofthe hand fits against the wall of the channel toward which the legprojects and yields a firm easy hold of the tile whereby the tile may bequickly moved bodily and readily guided into position without thenecessity of grasping the tile, thus combining dispatch and accuracy ofhandling with a minimum of fatigue, the outer end of the channel walltoward which the outstanding leg projects being rolled so that thisportion of the tile presents a smooth rounded surface to the back of thehand.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, said projecting means beingbelow the top edge of said channel so that said projecting means is freefrom load,

3. The combination set forth in claim 1, said projecting means beingbelow the top of said channel, a deep score along the length of saidprojecting means and closely adjacent the bottom said channel wherebysaid projecting means will fracture before transmitting any substantialload to the bottom of said channel.

top edge of said channel so that said projecting means will be free fromload, a groove along I the said projecting means, said groove beingclosely adjacent the bottom of said channel forming a relatively thinneck portion in said projecting means whereby said projecting means willfracture at said neck portion before trans- 1 mitting any substantialload to the bottom of said channel.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4, the outer end of the channelwall toward which the overhanging portion projects being curved so thatthis portion of the tile presents a smooth rounded surface to the backof the hand.

6. A tile having an open channel in each of two opposite faces thereof,means projecting from the bottom of each of said channels and having anoverhanging portion adapted to form a hand hold for the human handwhereby the tile may be quickly moved and readily guided into positionwith dispatch and accuracy, a groove along the said projecting means,said groove being closely adjacent the bottom of each of said channelsand forming a relatively thin neck portion in said projecting meanswhereby said projecting means will fracture at said neck portion beforetransmitting any substantial load to the walls of said channels.

JOHN H. ISENHOUR.

